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Belly and I are feeling pretty ready for the next stage – babyhood!!! We’re 9 days from our due date and feeling good. Baby is working those little muscles and moving around like crazy and Momma is doing quite a bit of napping and smoothie making. We’re thrilled to share a few snapshots of baby’s woodland nursery which is now completely finished and ready to welcome the little guy of honor!

With a woodland theme in mind, we chose things that felt natural, clean and textured for his room. We wanted something that was bright and fun, but also soothing and calm. I started collecting pieces pretty early on in the pregnancy, after our 20 week scan, knowing that I wanted to take my time and enjoy creating a collected look. Pieces like the canoe shelf and the Animals of North America poster were Pinterest inspires whereas the Explore pennant and the Be Brave pieces I made myself.

Take your time when choosing the pricier pieces like the glider and the dresser. I fell in love with these pieces from West Elm and we splurged a little on these items knowing that we would use them for years to come. By paying a little more for better quality we hope that the dresser and side table will work for our son even as a teenager (unless his mom steals them for herself – hehe).

And don’t forget baby’s closet! We chose to line the backs of his shelves with some wrapping paper to brighten them up a bit.

We had so much fun setting up baby’s room. It was a big happy project that kept us busy these last nine months. We’re really looking forward to enjoying the space and actually using all of the pieces we’ve set in place.

Now that the trees have shed their leaves I am officially ready for some holiday tunes! (I know, I know… we haven’t even gotten through Turkey Day, but I can’t help myself.) Freshen up your holiday playlist with these ten “new” (to me and hopefully you) Christmas songs. Enjoy!

I had the honor of photographing a dear friend of mine and her newly en-fianced in a beautiful park down by a marina. They are so happy to be starting this new chapter of their lives which made it easy to capture their love and excitement. I couldn’t be happier for these two love birds and had a blast working with them.

Today, baby-Rowe-to-be and I were honored with a beautiful storybook baby shower. It felt so great to be surrounded by all of my family and friends and their love for this little guy. My grad school friends outdid themselves with a beautiful green and white color scheme, classic storybooks dotting the room and sweet games like guess the illustrated character. We laughed and “aww”ed over the softest little slippers, the sweetest little hooded towels and the hit of the party – the plush rocking bear from Grandma. I cannot thank everyone enough for such a wonderful shower – I will always remember it down to the smallest little onesie.

Sometimes seasons come and go without really sinking in. I was inspired by Emily Bibb’s Fall Bucket List and used it to create my own. It really got me in the autumn mood and now we’ll have something to work off of on those lazy Sunday afternoons.

Today a few friends and I got together for a little calligraphy party. We had decided a month ago that we would sign up for Melissa Esplin’s online calligraphy workshop. After a few weeks of individual practice, we were excited to test out our new (and very amateur) skills on some envelopes, card stock and anything else we had lying around.

Before the girls arrived I covered a standard folding table in matte white wrapping paper. Then, I cut some pink poster board into 14″ squares and loop taped them to each spot to anchor each calligrapher’s work station. Then, I layered on notebooks, papers and name tags for the finishing touches.

When everyone arrived we sat down and laughed our way through ink drips, surprisingly cute results and a smudge or two. In the end everyone had addressed three envelopes, dabbled in gold ink and practiced those tricky letters (especially that roller-coaster H!).

By the end we were quite exhausted; it takes SO much concentration to get the letters consistent. After some serious focus we got a little silly, and messy. We would all recommend Melissa’s course and kit. It includes videos and images that are extremely helpful. Also, you can send pictures of your calligraphy to her and she will let you know what to work on. So cool! Of course, we would also recommend a fabulous party to celebrate your efforts. Happy dipping and drawing!

Having an awesome pair of happy shoes on your feet is like the cherry on top of the perfect ice cream sundae. Oh yea, and if you can find something adorable to stand on (#eastergrass) by all means take a footfie (a selfie for your feet, duh.) to celebrate your festive footwear. Ta ta for now!

I do love a good bow. Girly, preppy, put together, sweet, all good things. Did you know that you can just untie the new knotted hairties? (You did?… well, it took me a bit of a while to figure it out so there.) Take a knotted hair tie, untie it, then simply bow it around another hair tie. Then, put your locks up in a pony (I went for the halfsie look). Instant charm!

I’ve been in hiding for the past few… several… months. But the truth is that there are just too many cute and adorable girly things out there that NEED to be shared. Case and point – these Kate Spade nesting boxes. I know. I pretty much peed my pants at A.I .Friedman when I stumbled up these. Well, I first did a really cool, calm and collected sideways stare as I walked past them, trying not to squeal out loud. I casually picked up a package of Sharpies and then speed walked/tripped over to them. There was some caressing. There were some tears in the eyes. It was love at first sight.

Lucky for you they are still available one Kate’s site! What will you put in yours?